UTEP tuition might increase: Proposal to be presented at forum today

UTEP students head to and from classes Tuesday afternoon. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)

The University of Texas at El Paso is seeking opinions from students and the community regarding a possible increase in tuition and fees for the 2014-15 school year. A forum will be held at 3 p.m. today on the third floor of the Union Building East.

Gary Edens, vice president for Student Affairs, and Paulina Lopez, president of the Student Government Association, will present a proposal on possible tuition increases. After the presentation, Edens will answer questions from students and the public.

Officials with the university did not disclose how much of an increase is being considered but stressed that an increase has not been finalized.

"This is very preliminary," said Chris Lechuga, a spokesman for UTEP. "It's not set in stone. This (forum) is the first step from getting input from the students and answering questions. Obviously, no one likes an increase, but we've seen decreases in appropriations from the state year after year."

Lechuga added that information and opinions from today's forum will be reviewed by a committee and incorporated into the committee's proposal that will be sent to the University of Texas System Board of Regents for approval.

Claudia Manriquez said she worries the rising cost of tuition will affect her family, especially since the university had recently raised tuition in 2012.

Advertisement

"I'm an international student, so my parents pay for all my tuition and fees, and I don't receive any kind of financial aid," Manriquez said. "It kind of sucks because it's already expensive to pay tuition, so it's going to be more expensive for my parents. I think it will affect how we spend money in our house: how we pay for our bills, our cars, pay my brother's tuition for high school."

In 2012, the UT Board of Regents approved an increase of 2.2 percent for undergraduate students and a 3.6 percent for graduate students at UTEP.

The increases were the result of a $27 million reduction in state funding at UTEP. The university's operating budget for the 2013-14 school year is an estimated $418.9 million.

Revenue from the 2012 tuition increase went toward raises for faculty and staff and hiring new faculty that allowed for additional course offerings in the evening, weekend and minimester classes.

The additional funds were also supposed to go toward the Entering Students Program, according to El Paso Times archives. The program encouraged students to enroll in 36 credit hours a year and in return they would receive a $250 discount on tuition.

UTEP officials did not return calls or emails late Tuesday requesting the number of students who received a discount.

Graduate student Joe Macias said he is all right with additional tuition costs — as long as the increase is reasonable.

"An increase is never good because it hurts your pocketbooks, but if the funds stay within the school and the city and the increase is nothing ridiculous, then I think it should be OK," Macias said. "But I get where it could hurt a student's pocketbook, especially those who are struggling."

Jose Orozco said he works at the university and receives some financial aid to pay for his tuition. An additional increase might force him to look elsewhere for work, he said.

"I'm looking to go to grad school here and it's already going to be expensive," Orozco said. "I don't get help from my parents, so I may have to look for another job on campus or outside of school and look for financial aid or grants."

According to UTEP's Financial Aid Department, the average cost for tuition and fees for the 2013-14 academic year for an undergraduate student who enrolled in 30 hours for the year is estimated at between $5,376 and $7,233, depending on the time needed to finish the courses.

Nonresidents paid between $14,232 and $17,853 in tuition and fees for the same 30 credit hours.

Tuition and fees for graduate students taking 21 credit hours range from $5,508 to $6,510. Nonresident graduate students pay between an additional $6,370 to $7,432 in tuition and fees for those same credit hours.

If an increase is approved by the UT Board of Regents, the additional money will go toward the university's academic programs and attracting quality faculty, and retaining the university's current faculty, Lechuga said.

Officials with the Texas Board of Regents said other universities within the UT system, including UT Austin, UT Brownsville and UT Arlington, also will be submitting similar proposals to raise tuition.

The Board of Regents' next regular board meeting is scheduled for May and tuition raises might be on the agenda, officials said.

Alex Hinojosa may be reached at 546-6137.

What: The University of Texas at El Paso will host a tuition proposal forum to seek public opinions on possible tuition increases. Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited.